57 years later, Spc. Chuck Emery receives Bronze Star Medal for service in Vietnam

By Rory Ryan
The Highland County Press

After more than 50 years, Highland County resident Charles P. "Chuck" Emery has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service during the Vietnam War.

Emery was a specialist in the U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division.

Emery was honored at the annual military reunion for Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry (mech.), 4th Division in Omaha, Neb. on Sept. 18.

A commendation for Emery reads: "For meritorious service while serving as a rifleman and squad leader in connection with a military operation against a hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam from Feb. 4, 1968 to Oct. 8, 1969. Specialist Emery's skills and abilities displayed the highest degree of professionalism and sound judgment. His tactical competence and leadership led to his exceptional performance combined with his untiring pursuit of excellence were the major factors in his unit's ability to accomplish their mission. Specialist Emery's distinctive accomplishments are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon him, the 4th Infantry Division and the United States Army."

The commendation is signed by Brig. Gen. Adam D. Smith, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Ky., and United States Secretary of the Army Daniel P. Driscoll, and authorized by an executive order of the President of the United States.

Emery explained that at his unit's reunion in 2024, another service member who had received a Bronze Star for a rescue mission, stated that everyone in the unit also deserved to receive the Bronze Star for their efforts in that operation.

"After the Army, he served with the CIA and he had some connections," Emery said. "There were 15 of us in the unit to receive the Bronze Star at this year's reunion."

Emery enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 1968, just a month after his 19th birthday. After basic training at Fort Benning (now Fort Moore), Ga. and Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, La. in the summer of 1968, Emery deployed to Vietnam as a mortar specialist with a mechanized unit (an infantry unit equipped with armored vehicles for both transport and combat) on July 23 1968.

The Vietnam War began on Nov. 1, 1955 and continued until April 30, 1975. U.S. combat troops began to enter Vietnam in March 1965 with the landing of U.S. Marines in Da Nang, though U.S. military advisers had been present since the early 1950s. 

Emery was based near Pleiku, a city in Vietnam's Central Highlands that was a key strategic location during the Vietnam War, serving as a major airbase and logistics hub for U.S. forces. 

The Vietnam War effectively ended on April 30, 1975, when North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The United States formally ended its military involvement with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on Jan. 27, 1973, though the conflict between North and South Vietnam continued for two more years. The Paris Peace Accords officially ended U.S. involvement in the war by calling for a cease-fire, a withdrawal of U.S. and foreign troops, and the return of American prisoners of war. 

Chuck Emery is a 1967 graduate of Whiteoak High School. He serves as commander for the Mowrystown American Legion Roy W. Wilson Post 0694. He is the chaplain for Hillsboro VFW 9094. He is a member of the Supplemental Assistance to the Handicapped (SATH) Board and the Highland County Republican Party Central Committee. He lives in Sugar Tree Ridge and attends Sugar Tree Ridge Church of Christ.

For more about Chuck Emery's service, watch this 2019 interview conducted by Highland County Press columnist and local Realtor Randy Butler: https://www.facebook.com/dynamiteagent/videos/talking-with-local-vetera…